The future's bright...

We asked Cosmo staff to tell us what products they hope to see hitting shelves in the future...

We're just two years away from 21 October 2015 – the date Marty McFly gets sent to in Back To The Future 2. But unless scientists really pull their fingers out, we're unlikely to be seeing hoverboards, pizzas that expand from a two-inch disk to an XXL stuffed-crust in seconds, and flying cars by then. More's the pity.

But the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, which showcases the latest in home technology, shows that we can expect the future to contain products like the HAPIlabs HAPIfork. Hooray!

It takes 20 minutes for our brains to register a feeling of fullness, so this robo-fork measures the length of time between bites and give you a digital telling-off if you're scoffing too fast.

Other products unveiled include a smart-watch which you can use to read texts and answer phone calls, and a sensor for your computer which allows you to control onscreen action with your fingers. Which, frankly, is nowhere near as useful as a flying, time-travelling DeLorean.

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So, what fabulous inventions would we really like to see developed in the next two years? We asked the Cosmo team what they need to make their lives easier. Let's hope these all make an appearance at next year's show...

"I'd like a machine which changes the bed-sheets for me so I'm not stuck with my head inside a duvet cover, grappling with the corners for hours on end... I'd also like a computer which knows everything in my wardrobe, and assesses the weather and my online diary every morning to prepare a stylish and suitable outfit."Jo Adnitt, Acting Features Director

"Cupboards that are also dishwashers. You put your dirty plates in them and when you open them up again, they're clean. Loading up and emptying the dishwasher is simply too much. Oh, and a wardrobe that dry cleans your clothes, please!"Jacqui Meddings, Assistant Entertainment Editor

"Something to magically zap my make-up off at the end of the day, without me having to do a thing."Pat McNulty, Digital Editor

"I'd like to drunk-proof my phone. Can someone invent an app that reads texts back to you and asks if you really want to send them, please? It would definitely avoid blushes in the morning."Lorna Gray, Features Writer

"I would like travelators going in both directions to be installed on Oxford Street, so you wouldn't have to spend half your life trying to get past tourists. Also, underground staircases which detect if anyone is loitering / standing chatting on their phone for more than a few seconds, and delivers an electric shock to get them moving. Moohahaha."Rosie Mullender, Deputy Features Editor

"Something that transfers your dreams from your brain straight on to YouTube. Then, as well as driving people to distraction by describing your 'really weird' dreams, you could make them watch them too…"

"I would like a memory eraser to be invented. Not for the big memories, you understand (I wouldn't go deleting anybody's birth or graduation or anything major), just for those accidental slip-ups when you say something stupid in conversation or send a text message to the wrong person. Let's call it a five-second memory-eraser, if you will. So any embarrassing trip-ups in the street, cringe-worthy responses to questions your boss asks...? ALL GONE. Sweet as."Sophie Goddard, Junior Features Writer

"Something to make you look like you've had ten hours' sleep – when you've actually only had five."Jessica Turner, Junior Designer

"Some sort of intelligent brolly that makes my hair stay exactly as it did when I left the house, please. I've had enough of people thinking I have crap hair just because the weather insists on ruining it!"Lucy Partington, Beauty Intern

And the winner of 'Actual Invention We'd Like To See Right Now Please, Boris Johnson' goes to...
"I'd like someone to invent zig-zag poles on the London Underground which would still enable you to hold on, but would prevent 'leaners' from hogging the entire pole. It would be all zig-zaggy and uncomfortable for them to lean on. HA."Sophie Goddard, Junior Features Writer (Yes, again. She clearly has a glowing career as an inventor ahead of her)

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